Judas Priest’s Ian Hill Says That Retirement Is ‘Not on the Horizon’

Plenty of bands, whether they mean it or not, embark on farewell tours. Life happens, aging happens - it's inevitable. However, even some groups who are several decades into their careers are still going, one being Judas Priest. Bassist Ian Hill recently told Canada's Thorn of Rock that the band's retirement is "not on the horizon yet," and that "there's no reason" for them to stop at this time.

"We've done it for 50 years, and it would just seem strange if we stopped," the bassist says. "Having said that, we thoroughly enjoy what we're doing, which is a main motivation these days. And there's no reason to stop. As long as we can put on quality performances and put out quality music, we'll keep on doing so. And as long as the fine people who are the Priest fans are happy with that, there's no reason for us to stop."

Hill acknowledges they will eventually have to slow down. Apparently, that was their intention on their 2011 "Epitaph"tour, but guitarist Richie Faulkner had other plans. "Richie came onboard with boundless enthusiasm and energy, and we're back at doing albums and full-blown tours again, and we're all loving every minute of it," he explains.

The bassist then discusses whether Priest would ever continue without other original members of the band, citing that he and Rob Halford are the senior members. "So we only have a limited amount of time left. But how much time that is, who knows? I mean, look at The Stones. They're in their mid-70s and they're still battling on. There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to do that."

Listen to the full interview below.

Glenn Tipton is currently in the process of working on riffs for the new album. Their rescheduled tour dates with Ozzy Osbourne have also just been announced, see them here.